Tel Aviv residents call it the City That Never Sleeps, and if you don't believe them, just come around at 4 am, when you may find yourself waiting in line for a cafe table on seafront Hayarkon Street! Enjoying the highest standard of living in Israel, one-third of the country's population now lives in this exciting 55-square-mile metropolis that has become a world center of commerce and culture. Tel Aviv bustles with first rate restaurants, art galleries, museums, and spectacular beaches where the beachfront Tayelet runs two miles south to Jaffa providing a great walk, especially during one of Tel Aviv's many spectacular Mediterranean sunsets. The north-south thoroughfares of Hayarkon, Ben Yehuda (which becomes Allenby), Dizengoff, and Ibn Gvirol streets run parallel to the shore. Tel Aviv's premier hotels are located mostly on the seafront, along Hayarkon Street with its dozens of cafés, restaurants, and pubs. The unofficial "border" between south and north Tel Aviv is Carmel Market, a real cultural crossroads of East-meets-West and old-meets-new.

History: Tel Aviv's southern border, the ancient port of Jaffa, is where Jonah set sail on his fateful voyage into the belly of a whale. The cedars of Lebanon that were used to build Solomon's Temple arrived in Jaffa before being transported to Jerusalem. In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish pioneers began immigrating here from other parts of the world, and their numbers strained the capacity of the small port. The resulting city was named Tel Aviv in 1909. These Jews were later joined by immigrants from Europe, mostly Poland, and later by an influx of German Jews fleeing the Nazis. These new, urban arrivals brought with them an appreciation for the arts and a passion for Europe's sidewalk cafés. It was they who made the strongest social and cultural impact on the Tel Aviv of today.

Tel Aviv Fact: Tel Aviv is the first Hebrew city.